Different types of wireless devices may provide for automated communication. Automated wireless devices may include those implementing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication or Machine Type Communication (MTC). M2M and/or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station without human intervention. For example, M2M and/or MTC may refer to communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application program that can make use of the information or present the information to humans interacting with the program or application. These devices may be called M2M devices, MTC devices and/or MTC user equipments (UEs).
MTC devices may be used to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging. The market for MTC devices is expected to grow rapidly as industries such as automotive, security, healthcare, and fleet management employ MTC to increase productivity, manage costs, and/or expand customer services. For example, it is estimated that the MTC connectivity market may grow to over 200 million devices employed in the field by 2014.
MTC devices may use a variety of wired and/or wireless communication technologies. For example, MTC devices may communicate with a network over various wireless cellular technologies such as 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/or various wireless networking technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), etc.). MTC devices may also communicate with one another using various peer-to-peer technologies such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, and/or other ad-hoc or mesh network technologies. The expansion of multiple access wireless networks around the world has made it far easier for MTC communication to take place and has lessened the amount of power and time necessary for information to be communicated between machines. These networks also allow an array of new business opportunities and connections between consumers and producers in terms of the products being sold.
The increasing number and reliance on MTC devices may create issues associated with scheduling transmissions, allocating resources, and managing context data associated with the MTC devices. Similar issues may also arise with user equipment (UEs) having long sleep cycles and/or other devices that may be capable of operating for extended time periods without transmitting or receiving a signal from another device or a base station.